Higher Education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Online Desk | February 27, 2013

Higher Education in England

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland
, higher education
institutions are independent, se
lf-governing bodies active in
teaching, research and scholarship. They are established by Royal
Charter or legislation and most are part-funded by government.
Higher education (HE) is provided by many different types of
institution. In addition to universities and university colleges, whose
charters and statutes are made through the Privy Council
which
advises the Queen on the granting of Royal Charters and
incorporation of universities,
there are a number of publicly-designated and autonomous institutio
ns within the higher education
sector. Publicly funded higher education provision is available in
some colleges of further education
by the authority of another duly
empowered institution. Teaching
to prepare students for the award
of higher education qual
ifications can be conducted in any higher
education institution and in some further education colleges.

Degree awarding powers and the title 'university'

All universities and many higher education colleges have the legal
power to develop their own courses and award their own degrees,
as well as determine the conditions on which they are awarded.
Some HE colleges and specialist in
stitutions without these powers
offer programmes, with varying extents of devolved authority,
leading to the degrees of an institution which does have them. All
universities in existence before
2005 have the power to award
degrees on the basis of comple
tion of taught courses and the
power to award research degree
s. From 2005, institutions in
England and Wales that award only taught degrees ('first' and
'second cycle') and which meet certain numerical criteria, may also
be permitted to use the title 'university'. Higher education
institutions that award only ta
ught degrees but which do not meet
the numerical criteria may apply to use the title 'university college',
although not all choose to do so.
All of these instituti
ons are subject to the same regulatory quality
assurance and funding requirements as universities; and all
institutions decide for themselv
es which students to admit and
which staff to appoint.
Degrees and other higher educati
on qualifications are legally
owned by the awarding institut
ion, not by the state.
Admission
The most common qualification for entry to higher education is the
General Certificate of Education
at 'Advanced' (A) level. Other
appropriate NQF level 3 qualifications and the kite-marked Access
to HE Diploma may also provide entry to HE. Level 3 qualifications
in the CQFW, including the Wels
h Baccalaureate, also provide
entry, as do Scottish Highers, Adv
anced Highers or qualifications at
the same levels of the Scotti
sh Credit and Qualifications
Framework. Part-time and mature
students may enter HE with
these qualifications or alternatives with evidenced equivalent prior
formal and/or experiential learning
. Institutions will admit students
whom they believe to have the potential to complete their
programmes successfully.

Qualifications

The types of qualifications awarded
by higher education institutions
at sub-degree and undergraduate
(first cycle) and postgraduate
level (second and third cycles) are described in the Framework for
Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland (FHEQ). This also includes
qualification descriptors that
were developed with the HE sect
or by the Quality Assurance
Agency for Higher Education (QAA - established in 1997 as an
independent UK-wide body to m
onitor the standard of higher
education provision -
www.qaa.ac.uk
). The FHEQ was self-certified as compatible with the Framework for Qualifications of the
European Higher Education Area, the qualifications framework adopted as part of the Bolog
na Process, in February 2009.
Foundation degrees, designed to create intermediate awards
strongly oriented towards specific employment opportunities, were
introduced in 2001. In terms of
the European Higher Education
Area they are "short cycle" qualifications within the first cycle. The
FHEQ is one component of t
he Credit and Qualifications
Framework for Wales (CQFW). The Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority (QCA), the De
partment for Children, Education, Lifelong
Learning and Skills, Wales (DCELLS) and the Council for
Curriculum Examination and Assessment, Northern Ireland (CCEA)
have established the Qualificat
ions and Credit Framework (to
replace, in time, the National
Qualifications Framework (NQF)).
These authorities regulate a number
of professional, statutory and
other awarding bodies which contro
l VET and general qualifications
at all levels. The QCF is also inco
rporated into the CQFW. There is
a close association between the le
vels of the FHEQ and the NQF
(as shown overleaf), and other frameworks of the UK and Ireland.

Quality Assurance

Academic standards are established and maintained by higher
education institutions themselves using an extensive and
sophisticated range of shared quality assurance approaches and
structures. Standards and quality in
institutions are underpinned by
the universal use of external examiners, a standard set of
indicators and other reports, by the activities of the QAA, and in
professional areas by relevant
professional, statutory and
regulatory bodies. This ensures
that institutions
meet national
expectations described in the FHEQ: subject benchmark
statements, the Code of Practice
and programme specifications.
QAA conducts peer-review based audits and reviews of higher
education institutions with the oppor
tunity for subject-based review
as the need arises. The accuracy and adequacy of quality-related
information published by the higher education institutions is also
reviewed. QAA also reviews publicly funded higher education
provision in further education colleges.

Credit Systems

Most higher education
institutions in England and Northern Ireland
belong to one of several credit consortia and some operate local
credit accumulation and transfer systems for students moving
between programmes and/or institut
ions. A framework of national
guidelines, the Higher Education Credit Framework for England,
was launched in 2008. Credit is also an integral part of the CQFW
and the QCF. It may be possible for credit awarded in one
framework to be recognised by education providers whose
qualifications sit within a different framework. HE credit systems in
use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are compatible with
the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) for accumulation and
transfers within the European Higher Education Area, and are used
to recognise learning gained by stude
nts in institutions elsewhere in
Europe.

Admission

The most common qualification for entry to higher education is the
General Certificate of Education
at 'Advanced' (A) level. Other
appropriate NQF level 3 qualifications and the kite-marked Access
to HE Diploma may also provide entry to HE. Level 3 qualifications
in the CQFW, including the Welsh Baccalaureate, also provide
entry, as do Scottish Highers, Advanced Highers or qualifications at
the same levels of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications
Framework. Part-time and mature
students may enter HE with
these qualifications or alternatives with evidenced equivalent prior
formal and/or experiential learning
. Institutions will admit students
whom they believe to have the potential to complete their
programmes successfully
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